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Cape Town - Australian cricketer Alex Hepburn has been accused of raping a sleeping woman in his flat.
According to the ABC Sports website, the now 23-year-old all-rounder has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape following a charge back in 2017.
Hepburn, who was born in Perth but now plays his cricket out of Worcestershire in England, claims the alleged victim was awake and that she had consented to having sex with him.
The prosecution told the court the alleged victim had consensual sex with Hepburn's team-mate and house-mate, Englishman Joe Clarke, after a night out.
The woman then alleges she woke and realised she was not with Clarke - who had left the room - and that the person performing a sexual act on her was speaking in an Australian accent.
A member of the public is then believed to have called police after finding the woman "distressed and crying" on the street.
The prosecution also claimed that Hepburn's mobile phone had revealed that he was part of a "stat chat" group on WhatsApp where friends shared intimate details of the women they had slept with.
At the time of the charges being laid, the club announced Hepburn had been suspended on full pay.
